085
FXUS06 KWBC 212002
PMDMRD
PROGNOSTIC DISCUSSION FOR 6 TO 10 AND 8 TO 14 DAY OUTLOOKS
NWS CLIMATE PREDICTION CENTER COLLEGE PARK, MD
300 PM EST SAT FEBRUARY 21 2026
6-10 DAY OUTLOOK FOR FEB 27 - MAR 03, 2026
THE 0Z ECMWF, GEFS AND CANADIAN ENSEMBLE MEAN FORECASTS GENERALLY AGREE ON THE
AVERAGE LARGE-SCALE CIRCULATION PATTERN OVER NORTH AMERICA FOR THE 6-10 DAY
PERIOD AND ARE CONSISTENT ON UNDERLYING VARIATIONS IN THE PATTERN THROUGH THE
PERIOD. A RIDGE AND ASSOCIATED POSITIVE 500-HPA HEIGHT ANOMALIES ARE PREDICTED
OVER MOST OF THE NORTH PACIFIC EXTENDING EASTWARD TOWARDS THE WEST COAST OF THE
CONTIGUOUS UNITED STATES (CONUS). A TROUGH AND NEGATIVE 500-HPA HEIGHT
ANOMALIES ARE FORECAST OVER MAINLAND ALASKA EXTENDING INTO THE GULF OF ALASKA
AND SOUTHEAST ALASKA. ALL ENSEMBLE MEANS PREDICT NEGATIVE 500-HPA HEIGHT
ANOMALIES OVER CANADA EXTENDING SOUTHWARD OVER THE NORTHERN CONUS WITH A SECOND
TROUGH PREDICTED OVER THE NORTH-CENTRAL CONUS. A RIDGE AND POSITIVE 500-HPA
HEIGHT ANOMALIES ARE PREDICTED OVER THE SOUTHWESTERN AND SOUTH-CENTRAL CONUS IN
MODEL FORECASTS, WITH POSITIVE 500-HPA HEIGHT ANOMALIES EXTENDING OVER MOST OF
THE EASTERN CONUS, TO THE SOUTH AND EAST OF THE PREDICTED TROUGH. NEAR NORMAL
500-HPA HEIGHTS ARE FORECAST OVER HAWAII.
PROBABILITIES FOR BELOW NORMAL TEMPERATURES ARE ENHANCED OVER THE ALEUTIAN
ISLANDS, MAINLAND ALASKA AND SOUTHEAST ALASKA, UNDER THE PREDICTED AMPLIFIED
TROUGH, WITH PROBABILITIES GREATER THAN 70 PERCENT OVER MOST OF THE MAINLAND.
NEAR TO ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES ARE LIKELY ACROSS MOST OF THE CONUS (EXCEPT
FOR PORTIONS OF THE NORTHERN PLAINS AND UPPER MISSISSIPPI VALLEY, WHERE BELOW
NORMAL TEMPERATURE IS FAVORED), SUPPORTED BY CALIBRATED ECMWF, GEFS AND
CANADIAN ENSEMBLE MODEL TEMPERATURE FORECASTS. PROBABILITIES FAVORING
ABOVE-NORMAL TEMPERATURES EXCEED 80 PERCENT OVER PARTS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA,
SOUTHWESTERN ARIZONA, AND SMALL PORTIONS OF SOUTHWESTERN NEW MEXICO. ABOVE
NORMAL TEMPERATURES ARE FAVORED FOR HAWAII, CONSISTENT WITH MOST DYNAMICAL
MODEL TEMPERATURE TOOLS.
BELOW NORMAL PRECIPITATION IS FAVORED FOR PARTS OF WESTERN MAINLAND ALASKA IN
THE 6-10 DAY PERIOD, UNDER STRONG NORTHERLY MID-LEVEL FLOW. ABOVE NORMAL
PRECIPITATION IS SLIGHTLY FAVORED FOR FAR SOUTHERN AND EASTERN MAINLAND ALASKA
WITH HIGHER PROBABILITIES FOR SOUTHEAST ALASKA, CONSISTENT WITH THE
CONSOLIDATION OF CALIBRATED ECMWF AND GEFS PRECIPITATION PROBABILITIES. UNDER
THE PREDICTED RIDGE, BELOW NORMAL PRECIPITATION IS FAVORED FOR MUCH OF THE
SOUTHWESTERN AND WESTERN CONUS. A CONSENSUS OF DYNAMICAL MODEL PRECIPITATION
TOOLS, INCLUDING THE GEFS CALIBRATED AND UNCALIBRATED PRECIPITATION, SUPPORT
FAVORED NEAR TO ABOVE NORMAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE CONUS.
ABOVE NORMAL PRECIPITATION IS FAVORED FOR THE HAWAII ISLANDS, SUPPORTED BY MOST
DYNAMICAL MODEL PRECIPITATION TOOLS.
THE OFFICIAL 6-10 DAY 500-HPA HEIGHT BLEND CONSISTS OF 30% OF TODAY'S 6Z GFS
ENSEMBLE MEAN CENTERED ON DAY 8, 40% OF TODAY'S 0Z EUROPEAN ENSEMBLE MEAN
CENTERED ON DAY 8, AND 30% OF TODAY'S 0Z CANADIAN ENSEMBLE MEAN CENTERED ON DAY
8
FORECAST CONFIDENCE FOR THE 6-10 DAY PERIOD: ABOVE AVERAGE, 4 OUT OF 5, DUE TO
AGREEMENT AMONG ENSEMBLE MEANS ON THE AMPLIFIED 500-HPA HEIGHT PATTERN, OFFSET
BY SOME DIFFERENCES AMONG MODEL TEMPERATURE AND PRECIPITATION TOOLS.
8-14 DAY OUTLOOK FOR MAR 01 - 07 2026
ENSEMBLE MEAN FORECASTS OF THE 0Z ECMWF, GEFS AND CANADIAN MODELS CONTINUE TO
BE IN GENERAL AGREEMENT ON THE 8-14 DAY AVERAGE MID-LEVEL CIRCULATION PATTERN,
AND ARE CONSISTENT WITH THE 6-10 DAY PERIOD FORECASTS, WITH SOME
DEAMPLIFICATION OF ENSEMBLE MEAN 500-HPA HEIGHT ANOMALIES. DYNAMICAL MODELS
CONTINUE TO PREDICT POSITIVE 500-HPA HEIGHT ANOMALIES OVER THE WESTERN
ALEUTIANS AND TO THE WEST OF MAINLAND ALASKA. NEGATIVE 500-HPA HEIGHT ANOMALIES
AND A TROUGH PERSIST OVER MAINLAND AND SOUTHEAST ALASKA, WITH REDUCED AMPLITUDE
RELATIVE TO THE 6-10 DAY PERIOD MODEL FORECASTS. AVERAGE POSITIVE 500-HPA
HEIGHT ANOMALIES ARE PREDICTED ACROSS NEARLY THE ENTIRE CONUS IN THE 8-14 DAY
PERIOD, WITH SLIGHTLY NEGATIVE 500-HPA HEIGHT ANOMALIES PREDICTED OVER THE
CANADIAN BORDER OF THE NORTH-CENTRAL CONUS, ASSOCIATED WITH A PREDICTED TROUGH
IN EACH OF THE ENSEMBLE MEAN 500-HPA HEIGHT FORECASTS. NEAR-NORMAL HEIGHTS ARE
FORECAST OVER HAWAII.
BELOW NORMAL TEMPERATURES CONTINUE TO BE FAVORED FOR THE EASTERN ALEUTIANS,
MAINLAND ALASKA, AND SOUTHEAST ALASKA, UNDER A PERSISTENT TROUGH. ABOVE NORMAL
TEMPERATURES ARE LIKELY ACROSS MOST OF THE CONUS (EXCEPT FOR PORTIONS OF THE
NORTHERN PLAINS, THE UPPER MISSISSIPPI VALLEY, THE UPPER GREAT LAKES, AND PARTS
OF MAINE, WHERE BELOW NORMAL TEMPERATURE IS FAVORED) IN THE 8-14 DAY PERIOD,
UNDER NEGATIVE 500-HPA HEIGHT ANOMALIES AND CONSISTENT WITH CALIBRATED MODEL
TEMPERATURE PROBABILITIES. PROBABILITIES FOR ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES EXCEED
60 PERCENT OVER PARTS OF THE SOUTHWESTERN CONUS AND THE GULF COAST STATES,
CONSISTENT WITH THE TEMPERATURE CONSOLIDATION. ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES ARE
FAVORED FOR HAWAII, SUPPORTED BY TEMPERATURE FORECAST TOOLS AND THE
CONSOLIDATION.
BELOW NORMAL PRECIPITATION CONTINUES TO BE SLIGHTLY FAVORED FOR PARTS OF
NORTHWESTERN MAINLAND ALASKA, UNDER PREDICTED NORTHERLY MID-LEVEL FLOW. ABOVE
NORMAL PRECIPITATION IS FAVORED FOR THE SOUTH COAST OF MAINLAND ALASKA, EASTERN
INTERIOR MAINLAND ALASKA, AND SOUTHEAST ALASKA, AHEAD OF PREDICTED TROUGHING
AND CONSISTENT WITH THE PRECIPITATION CONSOLIDATION. FOR THE CONUS, NEAR TO
BELOW NORMAL PRECIPITATION IS FAVORED OVER A LARGER AREA OF THE WEST IN THE
8-14 DAY PERIOD, INCLUDING CALIFORNIA, SOUTHERN OREGON, THE GREAT BASIN, AND
ARIZONA, AS POSITIVE 500-HPA HEIGHT ANOMALIES PERSIST AND EXPAND NORTHWARD IN
MODEL FORECASTS. ABOVE NORMAL PRECIPITATION CONTINUES TO BE SLIGHTLY FAVORED
ALONG THE CANADIAN BORDER FROM WASHINGTON TO MONTANA INFLUENCED BY THE SOUTHERN
EXTENT OF A PREDICTED TROUGH. ABOVE NORMAL PRECIPITATION IS ALSO FAVORED OVER
MOST OF THE CENTRAL AND EASTERN CONUS, CONSISTENT WITH THE PRECIPITATION
CONSOLIDATION. ABOVE NORMAL PRECIPITATION IS FAVORED ACROSS THE HAWAIIAN
ISLANDS SUPPORTED BY MOST DYNAMICAL PRECIPITATION TOOLS.
THE OFFICIAL 8-14 DAY 500-HPA HEIGHT BLEND CONSISTS OF: 30% OF TODAY'S 6Z GFS
ENSEMBLE MEAN CENTERED ON DAY 11, 40% OF TODAY'S 0Z EUROPEAN ENSEMBLE MEAN
CENTERED ON DAY 11, AND 30% OF TODAY'S 0Z CANADIAN ENSEMBLE MEAN CENTERED ON
DAY 11
FORECAST CONFIDENCE FOR THE 8-14 DAY PERIOD: ABOUT AVERAGE, 3 OUT OF 5, WITH
GOOD AGREEMENT ON THE 500-HPA HEIGHT PATTERN FORECAST, OFFSET BY A LESS
AMPLIFIED PATTERN THAN FOR THE 6-10 DAY PERIOD AND SOME DIFFERENCES AMONG THE
MODEL TEMPERATURE AND PRECIPITATION TOOLS.
FORECASTER: LUKE H
NOTES:
THE NOTATION FOR THE CATEGORICAL FORECAST INDICATED ON THE MAPS IS
THE SAME AS THAT IN THE TABLES: A-ABOVE N-NEAR NORMAL B-BELOW
THE TEMPERATURE MAP SHOWS REGIONS WITH > 33% CHANCE OF BEING WARMER
(ORANGE, "A"), COLDER (BLUE, "B"), OR CLOSE TO (GRAY, "N") NORMAL.
LABELS ON THE SHADED LINES GIVE THE PROBABILITY (> 33%) OF THE MORE
LIKELY CATEGORY (B OR A). PROBABILITY OF N IS ALWAYS < 40%.
THE PRECIPITATION MAP SHOWS REGIONS WITH > 33% CHANCE OF BEING
WETTER (GREEN, "A"), DRIER (TAN, "B"), OR CLOSE TO (GRAY, "N")
NORMAL. LABELS ON THE SHADED LINES GIVE THE PROBABILITY (> 33%) OF
THE MORE LIKELY CATEGORY (B OR A). PROBABILITY OF N IS ALWAYS < 40%.
IN THE SOUTHWEST AND OTHER CLIMATOLOGICALLY DRY REGIONS - THERE WILL
BE A GREATER THAN 33.3% CHANCE OF NO PRECIPITATION AND OCCASIONALLY
EVEN A NORMAL (I.E. MEDIAN) VALUE OF ZERO - ESPECIALLY DURING THE DRY
SEASONS. IN SUCH CASES A FORECAST OF NEAR NORMAL IS EFFECTIVELY A
FORECAST OF LITTLE OR NO PRECIPITATION.
THE CLIMATE PREDICTION CENTER USES 1991-2020 BASE PERIOD MEANS AS
REFERENCE IN THE CLIMATE OUTLOOKS.
THE NEXT SET OF LONG-LEAD MONTHLY AND SEASONAL OUTLOOKS WILL BE RELEASED ON
MARCH 19.
ANALOGS TO THE 5 DAY MEAN OBSERVED PATTERN CENTERED 3 DAYS AGO (D-3)
FOR THE REGION FROM 20N TO 70N LATITUDE AND 175E TO 60W LONGITUDE
INCLUDE THE 5 DAY PERIODS CENTERED ON THE FOLLOWING DATES:
20180301 - 20110219 - 20190213 - 20110224 - 20070227
ANALOGS TO THE 7 DAY MEAN OBSERVED PATTERN CENTERED 4 DAYS AGO (D-4)
FOR THE REGION FROM 20N TO 70N LATITUDE AND 175E TO 60W LONGITUDE
INCLUDE THE 7 DAY PERIODS CENTERED ON THE FOLLOWING DATES:
20110220 - 20180228 - 20090305 - 20190214 - 20170225
6-10 DAY OUTLOOK TABLE
OUTLOOK FOR FEB 27 - MAR 03, 2026
STATE TEMP PCPN STATE TEMP PCPN STATE TEMP PCPN
WASHINGTON N B OREGON A B NRN CALIF A B
SRN CALIF A B IDAHO A N NEVADA A B
W MONTANA N A E MONTANA N A WYOMING A A
UTAH A N ARIZONA A B COLORADO A N
NEW MEXICO A B N DAKOTA B A S DAKOTA A A
NEBRASKA A A KANSAS A A OKLAHOMA A N
N TEXAS A N S TEXAS A N W TEXAS A N
MINNESOTA N A IOWA A A MISSOURI A A
ARKANSAS A N LOUISIANA A N WISCONSIN N A
ILLINOIS A A MISSISSIPPI A N MICHIGAN N A
INDIANA A A OHIO A A KENTUCKY A A
TENNESSEE A N ALABAMA A N NEW YORK N A
VERMONT N A NEW HAMP N A MAINE N A
MASS A A CONN A A RHODE IS A A
PENN A A NEW JERSEY A A W VIRGINIA A A
MARYLAND A A DELAWARE A A VIRGINIA A A
N CAROLINA A A S CAROLINA A A GEORGIA A N
FL PNHDL A N FL PENIN A A AK N SLOPE B N
AK ALEUTIAN B A AK WESTERN B B AK INT BSN B A
AK S INT B A AK SO COAST B A AK PNHDL B A
8-14 DAY OUTLOOK TABLE
OUTLOOK FOR MAR 01 - 07 2026
STATE TEMP PCPN STATE TEMP PCPN STATE TEMP PCPN
WASHINGTON A N OREGON A N NRN CALIF A B
SRN CALIF A B IDAHO A N NEVADA A B
W MONTANA A N E MONTANA A N WYOMING A N
UTAH A N ARIZONA A B COLORADO A N
NEW MEXICO A N N DAKOTA N N S DAKOTA A N
NEBRASKA A A KANSAS A A OKLAHOMA A A
N TEXAS A A S TEXAS A A W TEXAS A A
MINNESOTA B A IOWA A A MISSOURI A A
ARKANSAS A A LOUISIANA A A WISCONSIN N A
ILLINOIS A A MISSISSIPPI A A MICHIGAN N A
INDIANA A A OHIO A A KENTUCKY A A
TENNESSEE A A ALABAMA A A NEW YORK N A
VERMONT N A NEW HAMP N A MAINE B A
MASS N A CONN N A RHODE IS N A
PENN A A NEW JERSEY A A W VIRGINIA A A
MARYLAND A A DELAWARE A N VIRGINIA A A
N CAROLINA A A S CAROLINA A N GEORGIA A N
FL PNHDL A N FL PENIN A N AK N SLOPE B N
AK ALEUTIAN B A AK WESTERN B N AK INT BSN B A
AK S INT B A AK SO COAST B A AK PNHDL B A
LEGEND
TEMPS WITH RESPECT TO NORMAL PCPN WITH RESPECT TO MEDIAN
A - ABOVE N - NEAR NORMAL A - ABOVE N - NEAR MEDIAN
B - BELOW B - BELOW
THE FORECAST CLASSES REPRESENT AVERAGES FOR EACH STATE. NORMAL
VALUES - WHICH MAY VARY WIDELY ACROSS SOME STATES - ARE
AVAILABLE FROM YOUR LOCAL WEATHER SERVICE FORECAST OFFICE.
FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION SEE MESSAGE FXUS06 KWBC - ON AWIPS AS
PMDMRD.
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